February 14, 2012
Dominican Tabbed As Favorite In 2012 CACC Softball Poll
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Dominican College has been selected as the 2012 favorite in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Preseason Softball poll, which was voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.
Dominican, which received a total of 189 points and eight first-place votes, has won each of the last two CACC Softball Championships and returns a trio of players who were named to last season's All-CACC first team in juniors Julie Plante (SS) (Swansea, Mass.), Ashley Corrao (C) (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Delaney Childers (P) (Johnstown, Ohio). Childers was also recognized as the 2011 CACC Tournament Most Valuable Player after registering two wins and of saves.
Caldwell College was tabbed second in the conference as it received five first-place votes and a total of 179 points. This marked the first time since 2009 that the league's coaches did not select the Cougars as the preseason conference favorite. Caldwell advanced to the NCAA Championship in 2011 before falling in the East Regional Final.
Georgian Court rounds out the top three after claiming a share of the 2011 CACC regular-season title with a league mark of 20-6. Leading the way for the Lions in 2012 will be reigning CACC Player of the Year Rachel Ruch (Edison, N.J.), who returns for her senior campaign after posting an average of .369 during her junior season while adding seven home runs, 39 RBI and 15 steals.
Wilmington University checks in at No. 4 in the preseason rankings with 150 points while Bloomfield College was picked fifth.
Concordia College was slotted sixth after claiming a share of the league regular-season title in 2011 with a 20-6 record against CACC opponents.
Post University (7th), Felician College (8th), Holy Family University (9th), Philadelphia University (10th), Goldey Beacon (11th), University of the Sciences (12th), Nyack College (13th) and Chestnut Hill College (14th) round out the rest of the preseason rankings.
The 2012 season is slated to begin on February 24 when Goldey-Beacom opens non-conference play at the Catawba College Invitational. Conference play will start on March 15 when Concordia (N.Y.) travels to take on Bloomfield in a doubleheader. The eight-team CACC Softball Tournament will be hosted by Georgian Court on April 26-28 in Lakewood, N.J.
The 2012 CACC softball preseason poll is listed below:
School 2011 Records Points
1. Dominican (8) 35-18 (19-7) 189
2. Caldwell (5) 32-25 (17-9) 179
3. Georgian Court (1) 31-24 (20-6) 152
4. Wilmington 29-21 (17-9) 150
5. Bloomfield 24-22 (14-12) 136
6. Concordia (N.Y.) 25-14 (20-6) 128
7. Post 24-24 (15-15) 117
8. Felician 14-30 (12-14) 89
9. Holy Family 13-29 (10-16) 83
10. Philadelphia 18-21 (12-14) 73
11. Goldey-Beacom 17-21 (8-21) 63
12. USciences 10-30 (8-18) 58
13. Nyack 9-34 (7-19) 33
14. Chestnut Hill 6-32 (3-23) 20
(#) - first-place votes
